Rahul Gandhi Disqualified Only For Speaking The Truth: Kharge

The Indian National Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday countered the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly conspiring to disqualify Rahul Gandhi as a Member of Lok Sabha.

Kharge claimed that government wants to finish off the opposition by slapping cases on them.

“People like Lalit Modi, Nirav Modi, and Mehul Choksi had looted crores of rupees from the government and fled from this country. Are they from the backward class? The ruling party has made a perception that Rahul was targeting the backward classes with his ‘Modi Surname’ remark, while Rahul was just telling the truth,” Kharge said before the media in New Delhi.

He also said that the ruling party might think that by disqualifying Rahul’s Lok Sabha membership will help them to solve their issues. “But they are wrong, our demand for the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) into the Adani row is on and we will keep fighting, until our demand is met. For the sake of democracy, if we will have to go to jail, we are ready for that as well,” added Kharge.

Kharge further questioned why the Modi government is not allowing a JPC to be formed even as the BJP will have majority representation in it.

Meanwhile, the opposition parties held a protest march at Vijay Chowk to demand a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani row on Friday.

Following which, the Delhi police had detained opposition MPs who were protesting at Vijay Chowk.

According to reports, after a protest inside the Parliament House complex, a host of Opposition leaders from parties such as the CPI, CPI(M), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray), JD(U), and Aam Aadmi Party, marched to Vijay Chowk, holding placards like 'We demand JPC' and 'Save LIC' and a huge banner in front of them with 'Democracy in Danger' written on it.

On the other hand, All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) Chief Mamata Banerjee criticized the BJP for allegedly targeting the opposition leaders for their speeches.

Taking to her official Twitter handle, Mamata Banerjee said, “In PM Modi’s New India, Opposition leaders have become the prime target of BJP! While BJP leaders with criminal antecedents are inducted into the cabinet, Opposition leaders are disqualified for their speeches. Today, we have witnessed a new low for our constitutional democracy.”

Earlier, the Lok Sabha secretariat in a notification issued on Friday read, “Shri Rahul Gandhi, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency of Kerala stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction i.e. 23 March, 2023 in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1) (e) of the Constitution of India read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.”

A day earlier, the Surat court convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and sentenced him to two years of imprisonment in a 2019 defamation case that had been filed against him over his alleged derogatory remarks on the “Modi surname”.

Later, the court granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.

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